Just in Time
by Pitts Princess 12
Summary: Rose finally gets to test the new Time Hoppers and she's excited to travel through time again. Sherlock is still very skeptical about Time Travel so Rose takes it upon herself to show him first hand just what she's going to be doing. But after a very bad accident at Torchwood Sherlock is now counting on this technology that he still doesn't quite trust to save Rose's life. Roselock
1. Time Hopping

**A/N- This is the second story in my Roselock universe. You don't have to read the first one (but everything here will make more sense if you do) it's called Rose's first Vow.**

Chapter One~*~ Time Hopping

It was raining, but that seemed to fit perfectly with how John was feeling. He watched the rain hit the windshield as he parked the car then he looked to his side where Mary was sitting. She had tears in her eyes, as she often did these days. She had her hair pulled back from her face and was wearing a pair of silver heart shaped dangly earrings, they looked slightly out of place with her black somber dress and heels. He reached over and took her hand and squeezed it gently before reaching behind her seat to grab the umbrella. He opened his door and pushed the umbrella up and walked around the car and opened Mary's door. He took her hand as they walked up to 221 B Baker Street. Mrs. Hudson opened the door before they'd even made it up the stairs.

"He won't come down," she told them looking behind her at the staircase. She was wearing a black pant suit, and she took looked like she'd been crying. "Hasn't been out of the flat in three days."

"We'll go talk to him; do you need a ride there?" John asked as they stepped inside and he shook out the umbrella before closing the door.

"No," she said taking a deep breath. "Thank you though." She said and John nodded and the two of them headed up the stairs to the flat that Sherlock use to share with Rose. John tried the knob and Mary gave him a look.

"Just thought I'd try," he said before he pulled out his old key and opened the door. The music playing through the flat was not the kind he would have associated with mourning. It was fairly upbeat and John recognized it as something Rose had liked to play while cleaning.

"Sherlock?" He called over the music. Sherlock stepped out of the kitchen with a cup of tea in his hands, in his green dressing gown and bare feet. He looked surprisingly okay, his eyes were dry and he looked like he just shaved.

"You're not dressed," John said then shook his head. "We're supposed to be there in 20 minutes Sherlock." John said gently and Sherlock nodded his head.

"Okay," he said then turned back into the kitchen to sit down at the table, in front of his microscope. John couldn't believe what he was seeing. Anyone would think he hadn't just lost the most important person in his life.

"You're not wearing that," John said and Sherlock looked up at him then back down at his dressing gown.

"I seem to be," he said offhandedly as he went back to whatever he was looking at.

"Sherlock," Mary said, her voice had a pleading tone to it. "Please." He looked up at her and winced slightly at the tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going," he told them, his voice going slightly hard. He looked back down to the microscope again.

"Sherlock, you have to come," John said putting his hand on his shoulder which Sherlock quickly shrugged off and stood.

"Do I?" he said his voice defiant now. "Do I have to go watch them lower an empty casket into the ground for no reason?"

"Sherlock we're all mourning-

"I'm not," he said and John was taken back. He knew Sherlock must be shattering on the inside so he was trying to take everything he said with a pinch of salt, but that was harsh.

"Sherlock, you can't just lock up what you felt for-

"No," Sherlock said shaking his head as he cut off John again. "You don't understand. I'm not going and I'm not in mourning, because she's not dead." John shared a look with Mary and his heart broke for his best friend. Of course he should have expected this. He should have expected Sherlock to try and find something he could fix, some way for this not to be true.

"She _is_ Sherlock, she's gone." John said and Mary choked back a sob at John's words. "You should go get dressed, I'll drive us."

"No," Sherlock said sitting back down. "She'd not dead." He said sliding out whatever he was looking at in the microscope and sliding something new in. "Rose Tyler is _not_ dead."

~*~Three Weeks Earlier~*~

"Mary you're going to be fine," Rose said as she drove and Mary groaned in the back seat. The day had started out simply enough. They had gone on a walk in Hyde Park after Rose got off work while Sherlock and John had been on a case. Mary was 3 days overdue and her doctor had suggested she do a bit of walking to help jump start labor. They'd been walking around Serpentine River for about half an hour when Mary felt the first twang of contractions and Rose had texted both the boys. By the time they made it back to the car Mary was having trouble walking and doubled over with contractions. Rose had texted both Sherlock and John a dozen times each in that time and had gotten no replies. So now she was driving like a mad woman towards Mary's hospital with Mary cursing John in the back seat.

"Have they...ohhhh...messaged back?" Mary asked with a slight groan between contractions and Rose shook her head.

"They're in the middle of-

"I don't care if they're with the queen!" Mary said as she gritted her teeth. "I'm going to kill him if he misses- oh!" Her sentence ended in a long drawn out painful groan and Rose hoped the boys made it to the hospital in time. Rose heard her phone ding and prayed it was one of the boys.

"How you feeling back there?" Rose asked after a minute of silence.

"Rose I don't think we're going to make it," Mary said through clenched teeth.

"Oh don't say that were only five minutes away." Rose said and then her seat jolted as Mary slammed her hand into it.

"No, pull over!" She cried and Rose's eyes went wide. Oh God, was she going to deliver a baby now?

"Mary are you-

"Pull over!" Mary screamed and Rose pulled over as soon as she could. She grabbed her phone as she pulled open her door and climbed out then climbed into the back with Mary. Her face was sweaty and she had a death grip on the head rest in the back.

"Okay Mary," Rose said taking a deep breath. "We can do this." She told her taking Mary's free hand. "Right?" Mary nodded her head and groaned through another contraction, squeezing Rose's hand and Rose winced. Rose dialed 999 and set the phone down one the back seat.

"999 emergencies, how can I help you?" The operator said over the phone.

"Rose!" Mary said as another contraction hit her. "I think I need to push."

"We need an ambulance at Broadly St, right next to the post office." Rose said as she helped Mary lean against the back of the car door, balling up her sweater as a pillow. "I'm about to deliver a baby here."

"Okay ma'am, I have an ambulance on the way, do you have any medical training?" The operator asked and Rose was thankful that Torchwood had such good training.

"Yes," Rose said as Mary took deep breaths in through her nose and let them out on a long sigh. She didn't mention that she'd only read about delivering a baby and had never actually seen it done.

"Rose, Rose, now!" Mary said and Rose pulled off her shirt and checked Mary and was shocked to see the head of the baby already.

"Okay Mary, I can see her head," Rose said mostly ignoring the operator talking in the background now. "Take a deep breath and push on the next contraction, okay?" Rose said and Mary nodded and then took a deep breath right before the next contraction.

"Okay, you're doing great, push Mary!" Rose yelled as she heard sirens in the distance. "Push!" Rose said and Mary's head fell back for just a moment and Rose squeezed her hand. "Come on, once you're past the shoulders it's easy." Rose told her.

"How...would...you...know!" Mary ended on a scream as she pushed the shoulders out and Rose smiled. Rose put her hand on the back of the baby's neck as she mostly slipped the rest of the way out. She wrapped her in her shirt as the baby started to cry. Rose wiped her face and checked her air ways before handing her up to Mary who was crying silently now.

"I don't, but that's what they always say on TV," Rose said and Mary laughed as she looked down at the baby.

"Hello little girl," Mary said as the baby calmed. Rose looked up as the ambulance stopped in front of the car.

"Ambulance is here," Rose told Mary and she nodded, though she wasn't really paying attention as she smiled down at her daughter.

~*~Naming~*~

"So, have you decided on a name for this sweet little girl yet?" Rose asked as she cooed over the baby. It was three days later and they were at John and Mary's celebrating their homecoming. There was a small table of food and that Sherlock had provided (catered of course, because he didn't have time to do that sort of thing, according to him.) Lestrade was leaning against the wall with a small smile on his face. Mrs. Hudson was taking pictures of everything. She'd already gotten a dozen shots of the pink cake Rose had ordered in the shape of a pram. Rose walked over to Sherlock and handed him the baby and he smiled slightly at her. She could see his eyes were a little nervous but he took her without any fuss.

"Yes actually we have," Mary said sharing a smile with John. "We're going to-

"Hello!" A cheerful voice called and everyone turned as Molly came pushing a sunny yellow pram with a teddy bear the size of a large dog in it.

"Oh Molly, you made it," Mary said as she stood up and walked over to her slowly. "It's beautiful, thank you." Sherlock opened his mouth and Rose looked up at him and shook her head once. She was sure he was going to tell Molly that they had already gotten them a pram, but it was in the baby's room and there was no reason to make Molly feel bad.

"Of course I did," Molly said looking around the room with a smile; her eyes landing and lingering on Sherlock holding the baby. Then she saw Rose standing with him and her smile faltered just a little. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, and tired," Mary said with a small chuckle. "But worth it."

"Of course," Molly said nodding her head. She pushed the pram out of the way and bit her lip for a moment before walking farther into the room.

"Hello Sherlock," she said smiling at him. "It's Rose right?" She said looking at Rose and Rose smiled and nodded. She knew perfectly well there was no way Molly was struggling with remembering her name, Sherlock had talked about Molly before, and she was too smart to have forgotten something like that. But Rose let it slide; it was hard to see someone you cared about with someone else.

"It's so nice to see you again," Rose said with a bright smile. "And under much better circumstances this time," she said happily and then looked up and shared a look with Sherlock. "Isn't that right Will?" She said with a small giggle and Sherlock rolled his eyes. She didn't miss the slight hurt that flittered through Molly's face and winced inwardly. Okay, that had been unnecessary; maybe she didn't totally let it slide.

"How are you Molly?" Sherlock asked as the baby started to fuss. His eyes went wide as the baby let loose with a huge wail and Mary laughed, as did Rose.

"Let me take her Sherlock, she's hungry." Mary said walking over with a huge smile. "You better learn to hide that reaction." Mary said with a laugh. "I don't imagine Rose with appreciate it someday," she said with a wink and Molly's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"Are you-

"No," Rose said shaking her head with a smile. Mary winced behind Molly's back and mouthed 'sorry' at Rose. "No I'm not pregnant."

"Not yet," Sherlock added and Rose had to stop herself from elbowing him in the ribs. He really could be so oblivious sometimes. Molly's eyes were still wide and Rose looked over Molly's shoulder to Mary who was sitting on the couch feeding the baby. She gave Mary a 'help me' stare and Mary nodded.

"I was just about to tell you her name," Mary said and Molly turned away from them and forced a smile onto her face.

"Oh yeah," Rose said nodding her head before she shot Sherlock a glare. She turned to Mary and smiled. "Well, what's her name?"

"Rosamund," Mary said looking down at her daughter. "But we'll call her Rosie for short." Mary smiled at everyone but she stopped for just a moment and shared a look with Rose. Molly stepped over to the little food table hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Oh that's beautiful," Rose said stepping away from Sherlock to sit next to Mrs. Hudson, across from Mary. "How did you come up with that?"

"Well part of it's a family name and..." She trailed off and looked up at John who was sitting on the arm of the couch next to her. He looked around the room and Rose got the feeling he was looking at Molly. He looked back at Mary and nodded his head. "And partly to honor her godmother, who also delivered her." Mary asked looking at Rose. Rose opened her mouth to say something when there was a loud thump as Molly dropped her plate onto the floor.

"Oh damn," she said kneeling down to pick up the finger foods. "I'm sorry," She said and Rose noticed just how red the poor girl was. She stood up and walked over to her.

"It's okay," Rose said picking up a few cherry tomatoes that had rolled away. "At least you hadn't gotten any dip yet." She said with a smile and Molly nodded her head and mumbled a thank you before she stood and hurried back towards the kitchen. Rose walked back over to Mary and sat in front of her on the coffee table. Sherlock was talking to Lestrade and seemed to have missed everything.

"Poor thing," Mary said and Rose nodded and she reached out and stroked Rosie's soft head. "But John and I had already planned on telling you now and...

"I think she'll be fine once she gets used to me and Sherlock together." Rose said with a smile. "I'm honored you guys, truly."

"And Sherlock, we'd like you to be her godfather?" John said and Sherlock looked over from his conversation with Lestrade. Rose looked up from Rosie to smile at Sherlock and saw Molly standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"God is a ludicrous fiction dreamed up to explain the unexplainable and so people can place blame on an invisible magic friend." Sherlock said and John sighed and Rose and Mary chuckled lightly.

"Sherlock," John said and Sherlock smiled at him.

"I'll think about it," he said and Rose looked over at Sherlock and rolled her eyes at him before she scolded him.

"Sherlock," she said and he smiled and looked from her to John who just rolled his eyes.

"Will there be cake?" he asked and Rose laughed and now John joined her. Rose was the only one who noticed that Molly had gone back to the kitchen. Rose turned back to Mary and reached out and ran her hand down little Rosie's arm. She'd never been anyone's godmother before, but she'd try her best with Rosie. She loved how close she and Mary had come over the Magnussen fiasco. It was so nice to have a close female friend again. But she couldn't help but feel like her being there may have disturbed a budding friendship between Mary and Molly. If she hadn't been around, would Molly have been Rosie's godmother? She smiled at Mary then stood up and walked back into the kitchen. Molly was sitting at the small island in the kitchen, holding a drink in her hand. She looked up as soon as Rose walked in and her eyes darkened just a little.

"Why?" Molly asked as she stood up. She was about two inches taller than Rose, but there was nothing intimidating about her.

"Why what Molly?" Rose asked as she walked past her to the fridge to grab herself a soda.

"Why you? What's so special, so different about you that he saw that he never saw in me?" she asked and Rose sighed. She opened her soda and took a drink.

"Honestly Molly I have no idea." Rose finally said and Molly deflated a little. "I don't think anyone really knows what draws two people together. I just knew that I wanted to get to know him better and when I asked him to go to dinner with me he said yes." Rose took another drink. "I'm sorry it all hurts you the way it does though. I know how it feels to watch someone you care about so much feel something for someone else that they don't feel for you. But I know Sherlock considers you a friend. He told me about how you helped him fake his death. He told me lots of stories about you."

"I just-

"Rose, Mary says her blood sugar is low and she needs cake which seems like a convenient excuse to have cake" Sherlock said unaware that he had cut off Molly. He looked from the two of them, his eyes finally staying on Molly. "What's the matter Molly?" Molly blinked and stared at him for a moment. She'd never seen him notice or mention mental distress in someone. She looked from him to Rose and took a deep breath pulling on a big smile that was almost real.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said picking up her drink. "I was just getting to know Rose a bit better."

"Okay," he said then smiled at Rose. "Mary wants to cut the cake and wants everyone out there."

"We'll be right out," Rose told him and he nodded then turned and walked back out the door.

"He's better since you came along," Molly said looking at Rose. "You make him better."

"I-

"Someday, in a while, maybe we could get lunch, talk a bit." Molly said cutting her off. She knew Rose was going to deny it, but Molly knew it was Rose that had brought out the humanity in Sherlock.

"I'd like that," Rose finally said with a smile.

~*~Time~*~

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something," Rose said as she took off her jacket after she got home from work. Sherlock was sitting in front of his computer and he nodded but didn't look up. Rose walked over to stand behind him and looked down at his screen. He was still working on the same case he'd been working on this morning.

"Did you eat at all today?" Rose asked and he looked away from the screen and met her eyes.

"Didn't we have breakfast this morning?" he asked and Rose chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"That was nearly 10 hours ago Sherlock," she told him before she shook her head and walked back towards the kitchen. She pulled a few things from the fridge and started making them some dinner.

"You wanted to talk about something?" he asked as he came into the kitchen and pulled the kettle off the stove to fill.

"Yeah," Rose said as she sliced tomatoes. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "Pete called me into his office today." She said setting the tomatoes aside and putting some bread in a toaster.

"Why?" Sherlock asked as he set the kettle back on the burner and turned it on.

"They are starting a new testing cycle for the Time Hoppers," She said and he turned from the stove to look at her. "And he wants me to test them. I have way more experience than anyone here."

"Right," he said nodding slowly. He looked at her for just another moment then shrugged. "Okay." The toast popped up and Rose turned to grab it and set it on plates. She began to put together the BLT's as she waited. Where were the questions, the demands for being safe, why was he being so nonchalant about it?

"So I'll be testing it for him starting next week," she said and he nodded as he took the plate she handed him. "Jumping backwards in time." He just nodded again as he sat. The kettle began to whistle and Rose set her plate down and turned to the stove. She pulled it off and made them both a cup of tea. "Alone," She added waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Okay," Sherlock said nodding his head again and Rose set his tea down in front of him then plopped down in her seat.

"Really?" She asked watching as he took a bite of his sandwich. "Last week I had to go to Cardiff for a case and I got an hour long lecture on the dangers of flying," Rose said staring at him. "But today I tell you I'll be jumping backwards in time and I get a shrug and 'okay.'

"Am I supposed to be upset?" Sherlock asked and Rose shook her head.

"No, but I guess I thought you might be the slightest bit worried." Rose finally admitted then sighed. She watched his face for a few moments and then it dawned on her. "You still don't really believe me, about the time travel, do you?"

"It's not that," Sherlock said and Rose nodded her head. "Not that I think your lying or-

"What, crazy?" She asked with a small chuckle. "No, you can see me, it's easier to except that I came from another dimension; I didn't exist here before 5 years ago. But Time Travel... that still doesn't sit quite right with you." She said and he just blew out his breath through his nose. Rose stood and walked into the living room. Sherlock could tell she wasn't upset with him, but she probably wasn't pleased that he still couldn't really accept all this time travel talk. After a few moments he could hear her talking to someone so he stood. He walked into the living room to find her on her mobile.

"Please, he needs to understand this; I need him to understand." There was a pause and Rose smirked. "I'm perfectly aware of that, I'm the one who told you. Please" she paused again and took a deep breath. "Please dad?" she asked again then a smile broke out on her face. "Thank you! Yes I promise! Tell mum and Tony hi for me." she smiled again. "I love you too" she hung up the phone and Sherlock just stared then a small smirk broke out on his face.

"Did you just use emotional manipulation to get what you wanted?" he asked and Rose was not surprised by the note of awe and pride in his voice.

"Well, it's not the first time I've called him dad... But..." Rose shrugged and Sherlock laughed then sobered just a little.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" He asked and Rose walked back into the kitchen with a huge smile. She came back out a moment later with his sandwich wrapped up in a paper towel, along with hers.

"We're going to Torchwood," Rose said with a smile as she handed him his sandwich. "Come on, get your coat." Rose said when he just stood there staring at her for a moment. She had her coat on when he moved towards the door to get his coat.

"Why?" he asked as he got his coat on, careful not to drop his sandwich.

"Haven't you been listening?" Rose said with a huge smile, her tongue tucked in the corner of her mouth. "I'm taking you time traveling," she said before she opened the door and walked out, leaving Sherlock standing by the door looking a bit shocked.

~*~Time~*~

"Well, when should we go?" she asked as she walked through aisles of clothing, all in sets from different time periods. They had passed through security relatively easily, Pete having cleared their way already. Rose had led him to the elevator and they'd gone down farther then she'd taken him before.

"I was thinking Shakespeare," Rose said as she wondered down to a row of clothing that reflected the styles of the Elizabethan era. She ran her hands along the clothing then looked over her shoulder at Sherlock. "What do you think?"

"Rose you can't honestly expect me to accept that we're going to travel through time," Sherlock said and Rose laughed.

"Indulge me Sherlock," Rose said with a smile. She shifted through the clothing till something caught her eyes. "Oh, this should do nicely," she said pulling something off the rack and handing it to him.

"Rose," Sherlock said looking at the black ensemble she was holding out to him, at least they weren't tights. It looked to be a leather jacket, with an intricate design on the back. There was a white shirt that had a bit of a high collar on it, which he admitted suited him. The pants were a black cotton material of some kind. He took the clothing from her and she walked towards the back of the room then came back with a pair of black boots.

"These should work," she said holding them out to him. He just stared at her and Rose smiled. He snatched the boots from her and she nodded. "There's a changing..." She trailed off as he pulled his coat off and threw it onto a chair and started to unbutton his shirt. "Or you could just change here." Rose finished as she watched him strip. He left on his pants then began to put on the clothing Rose had given him. Rose watched in fascination as he dressed. She'd never before had a thing for men in period dress, but as she watched him throw the jacket on over the white shirt she thought she might be developing one. He sat down to pull the boots on and then stood, fully dressed and looked at Rose.

"Oh you'll do," She said with a small suggestive smile. He had watched as her eyes begun to dilate and her breath had hitched just a little when he stood. Maybe this wouldn't be a total waste of time.

"Aren't you going to change?" He asked and Rose's smile grew.

"Yep," she said popping the 'p' and she grabbed something off the rack and folded it over her arm. "But I'm going to use the changing rooms." She said with a wink before she turned and walked towards the back again and through a door. Sherlock was surprised to find how easy this new clothing was to move in as he walked along the rows of clothing. They had items from as far back as what looked to be about the 15th century.

He heard the door open and turned around slowly. She was wearing a dress of deep red that looked to be made of velvet. It hugged her just below her breasts and then flared out. The sleeves were red with white puffs that popped out from the under dress, the sleeves ended loosely at her wrists. She had her long hair pulled up onto her head in some kind of elegant golden netting. She had a small smile on her face as she walked towards him.

"What do you think?" She asked and he shifted on his feet.

"You look very elegant," he said and Rose bit her bottom lip and then smiled. She hadn't really 'dressed for the time period' since she traveled with the first Doctor. She was a little nervous about this whole thing. Was it really a good idea taking someone back in time? Could she really handle that responsibility? She reached out and took his hand and pulled him out of the room before she lost her nerve. She took him through another door then walked straight over to a desk in the back of a lab. There was a tray on the desk, and on the tray were four arm bands. They all had a small screen on them and a set of keys under the screen.

"Here they are," she said pointing them out and Sherlock was confused. She couldn't mean these were how they were going to Time Travel.

"Rose," he said again and this time the doubt was palpable in his voice. He raised his eyebrows as she plucked one up off the table and pushed her sleeve up a little to strap it on.

"A little faith Sherlock," she said with a wink. She took a step towards him before she typed something into the little arm band. "Put your arms around me Sherlock, I don't want to leave you behind." He rolled his eyes but did as she asked anyway. "Are you ready?" She asked looking up at him.

"I suppose," he said dryly and Rose laughed as she pushed the final button and they winked away with a slight sizzling sound.

**A/N- Ok, I hope you guys like this so far. It's just a little in-between story before we move on to the second story. It'll probably be 3-4 chapters long. Hope to hear from you guys!**


	2. Shakespeare

Chapter Two~*~ Shakespeare

Sherlock jolted a little as the world tilted, his stomach dropped and his head spun. A second later it felt like the world went right again and he staggered forward a few steps, dragging Rose, who he was still holding in a death grip, forward with him. It was pitch black and that worried him for a moment till he realized he was screwing his eyes shut. He held them shut for a bit as all his other senses flooded his mind with sounds and smells he was very unfamiliar with. He could hear chatter around him in an accent he couldn't quite place. He took a deep breath then wrinkled his nose in disgust; that was not a pleasant smell. He opened his eyes to find Rose looking around them; her face filled with joy, they seemed to be standing on a dirt road in some kind of alley. He looked up slowly and could see people walking by the mouth of the alley a few feet away from them. He let go of Roses waist and stepped towards the mouth of the alley.

"The end cometh! The world will be consumed by fire!" A voice called out as he stepped out of the alley. Sherlock's eyes were huge as he took everything in. The rough stone buildings, the thatched roofs, it all felt very genuine.

"How you doing there Sherlock?" Rose asked she watched his back tense up. His head darted toward her and Rose took in the shock, excitement and lingering doubt.

"It's can't be real," He said softly as he continued to look around them, as though looking for a fault, an actor wearing a wrist watch or something.

"Sherlock, really, you're standing in the middle of the street, in 1599, how can you still doubt what you're seeing?" Rose asked and he finally looked at her. He took in the look in her eyes, the slight frustration, the disappointment and he sighed. He wanted to believe, but there was still a small part of his brain that was telling him this couldn't be real.

"Show me something," he said as he reached out and took her hand. "Didn't you say something about Shakespeare?" Rose smiled at that and looked around. She squeezed his hand then pulled him towards a merchant selling some kind of dried meat.

"Excuse me sir, could you tell me if we're close to the Globe Theater?" She asked with a wide smile and the gruff looking man, who did not look like much of a smiler, smiled back and nodded. Sherlock watched her as they spoke, his mouth slightly open in surprise.

"Course ya are," He said pointing down the road. Sherlock just watched totally stunned. "Just go down that way, turn left at the river, can't miss it," He said and Rose nodded her head and smiled even brighter.

"Thanks!" Rose said happily and waved as she started walking towards where the merchant had sent them. "What is with that look on you face?"

"I was just surprised is all, I didn't know you spoke German; how did you know he was German?" Sherlock asked and Rose stopped walking and stared at him.

"I don't speak German," Rose said shaking her head giving him an odd look.

"I beg to differ," Sherlock said giving her an equally odd look. "You just spoke to him in fluent German, without a trace of an English accent too." Rose's color drained just a little as she took a deep breath. Ok, that was weird, was there some way the TARDIS translation matrix could still be working in her mind? Maybe it had something to do with Bad Wolf? "Rose? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," She said shaking her head a little and she began to walk again. "When you travel on the TARDIS with the Doctor she gets into your head a bit, makes it so you hear all languages as your own, but it's been years since I stepped foot on her, it can't be that."

"So what else could it be?" He asked and she bit her bottom lip. He was use to Rose referring to the TARDIS as her, she'd told him the ship was sentient, but he still had a hard time believing that as well.

"The only thing I can think to explain it would be Bad Wolf" She said and he nodded his head. He remember the story of Bad Wolf perfectly, it had come up somehow during their many nights investigating Magnussen. It had scared him at the time, thinking of her being in such a dire situation and it scared him now to think it may still be messing with her head. She didn't say anything else as they walked and he wasn't sure what reassurances he could make, so he was silent as well. Instead he watched people as they moved through the streets. He watched as three people got pickpocketed and two merchant's got robbed almost under their noses.

"There it is," Rose said with a note of awe in her voice. Sherlock looked away from the people and towards a large round building just a bit in front of them. "The Globe Theater," She said and a smile graced her face again as she stopped to look at it.

"It was built in... this year actually," Rose said as they stood there and stared. "One of the first plays ever preformed here was Julius Caesar, It's rumored that the Queen herself came to see a play here once. Unfortunately it burned to the ground in 1616, but they rebuilt over the old foundation." Rose told him with a small smirk on her face. She felt a bit like the Doctor, standing in 1599 explaining about something from deep in the past as her companion listened.

"Did you enjoy that?" Sherlock asked with a mirroring smirk and Rose nodded her head. "Shall we then?" He said holding out his arm to her and she nodded her head again. She took his arm and they headed towards the theater. Rose pulled something from a hidden pocket and handed it to Sherlock. He could tell by the way it shifted and the slight jingle that it was a money purse. He raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled at him.

"We always come prepared," She told him and he nodded his head. When they were stopped at the door Sherlock handed over the requested six pence each so they could sit in the nicer seats. Rose could hear the crowd below them growing as they waited for the play to start.

"So, you ready?" Rose asked leaning into Sherlock as a man stepped onto the stage. Sherlock nodded and leaned forward just a little, excited. He realized with a start that he was sitting in the Globe Theater in 1599. Rose watched as his eyes went wide and he looked at her. "Yeah, it's pretty cool huh?" All he could do was nod as the man on the stage began to speak.

Two hours later and the play was finishing as the actors all bowed on the stage. Rose couldn't stop smiling as she watched Sherlock watch the stage. She'd never seen him sit so still before for so long. She felt it was safe to assume he believed now. Rose smiled as she heard someone shout "Author! Author!" from down in the yard around the stage. Then all around them everyone was calling for the author and Rose started to get excited. Was Shakespeare really going to come out?

"Oh my god," Sherlock breathed as Shakespeare stepped out onto the stage and the crowd cheered. "Shakespeare, it's really him."

"Ah, shut your big fat mouths," Shakespeare called out and everyone chuckled and Sherlock looked at Rose. She chuckled as well and shrugged.

"Never meet your heroes," She said shaking her head. Sherlock chuckled lightly and then took her hand in his. Shakespeare was talking in the background but Sherlock was not paying attention now.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Sherlock finally said and Rose nodded her head with a huge smile, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth.

"'S'ok," She said with a shrug. "I imagine I- But she stopped talking abruptly as a voice had filtered up to her from below them. She had to have heard them wrong she thought as she leaned away from Sherlock towards the railing wall. She would have sworn someone down there just said 'mini-disk' but that couldn't be; there was no such thing in 1599. Then she heard another voice and all the color drained out of her face and Sherlock looked at her, worry in his eyes now. He opened his mouth, her name forming on his lips but she shook her head vehemently.

"Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the TARDIS, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer." Rose leaned as far over the rail as she dared to look down. The women with the Doctor looked up and Rose got a clear view of her face. She was very pretty, her dark skin and hair looked very exotic in this setting. Sherlocks eyes had gone wide to as he started to listen to whatever it was Rose was hearing. He leaned across Rose's lap and looked down and saw two people below that were definitely not from 1599.

"Well, let's go have a look then, shall we?" The man in the long brown coat said before he turned and walked away, the women with him looked around one more time before she turned and followed after him. When they were gone Rose sat back and took a deep breath and when she let it out it came out in a little giggle and Sherlock could hear the edge of hysteria in the giggle. She took a few deep breaths then looked up at Sherlock, who had an odd look on his face. She was surprised by the fact that she hadn't tried to get the Doctor's attention, she'd actively kept Sherlock from saying her name. She looked away from him and stared at her hands. She knew she loved Sherlock, had no desire to go back to the Doctor or that life, but it still surprised her that she made no move to see him.

"Well," She finally said looking back up at Sherlock, who still had an odd, contemplative look on his face. The crowd around them had vanished as people headed out of the theater. "That explains me speaking German." He almost didn't seem to hear her and Rose put her hand on his. "Sherlock?"

"You didn't say anything," He finally said and Rose was confused. Something must have shown on her face because he elaborated. "You just let him leave." There was a bit of a smile forming on Sherlocks face now, as he stared at her. She understood after a second, some (hopefully small) part of him had been assuming still, that if the Doctor showed back up she would go running into his arms. Hopefully now he would stop worrying that she was really just waiting for the Doctor to sweep back in and 'save' her.

"Yeah, course I did, course," Rose said nodding her head. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "I don't want to be anywhere but with you, yeah?" The smile on Sherlocks face widened till his whole face lit up with it. He leaned over and kissed her, quick and hard before he popped away.

"But how are we here?" He asked and Rose looked thoughtful. "I'm assuming that somehow we're back in your original universe."

"I'm not sure, but we haven't had any problems with people crossing into my original universe before," Rose said and Sherlock shook his head.

"How would they know though?" Sherlock said and Rose's eyes went wide. He was right, of course. "No one would know unless they ran into the Doctor,"

"We need to go home," Rose said standing up and reaching for his hand. He took it and they silently walked out of the theater and headed for an alley. Once they were down an empty alley Rose pulled Sherlock to her and he wrapped his arms around her. She pushed a few buttons on her Time Hopper and then took a deep breath. She pushed the final button and they both popped away with a sizzle.

~*~How~*~

The return trip was a little less disorientating for Sherlock, but he still felt a little dizzy when they popped back. He held onto Rose for just a moment as he regained his bearings. He took a deep breath before he let her go and Rose smiled up at him.

"Well, don't you two look fancy," Rose whirled around at the voice and then ran over to Mickey and jumped at him.

"Oh thank god!" She said wrapping her arms around him, almost knocking him over. Sherlock smirked at the confused, bemused look on Mickey's face.

"Hey it's ok," Mickey said as Rose pulled away. "What happened?" He asked and Rose looked up at him and took a step back.

"Let's go down to the galley, I need a cup of tea. Then we'll tell you all about it." Rose said looking back and Sherlock. He nodded and they both headed towards the doors but Mickey didn't move. "Are you coming?" Rose asked turning to look at a smirking Mickey.

"Yeah, but aren't you going to change first?" He asked and Rose and Sherlock both looked down, having forgotten that they'd 'dressed for the occasion' as it were.

"Oh, yeah," Rose said blushing a bit as she took Sherlock's hand. She led him the other way, back towards the wardrobe where their normal clothing was. They could hear Mickey chuckling as they walked through the door.

~*~Back~*~

"So you're telling me that you saw the Doctor, our Doctor?" Mickey asked as they finished telling him about what had happened. "How is that even possible?" He asked and Rose broke her biscuit in half and handed part of it to Sherlock.

"I've been thinking about it," Rose said setting her biscuit down and sitting back in her chair. "And I have a theory."

"Were you gonna tell us or just leave it at that?" Mickey asked after a few seconds and Rose threw her uneaten biscuit at him.

"I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order," Rose told him and he chuckled. She picked up her tea and took a sip then set it down again and took a deep breath.

"You're killing me her babe," Mickey said and Sherlock chuckled lightly. He knew that Rose was now doing it on purpose to annoy Mickey, though he was dying to know what her theory was as well. He reached under the table and squeezed her leg and Rose giggled.

"Fine," Rose said with a smirk. "We know that this universe was created because of what happened with Queen Victoria." Rose said and Mickey nodded his head but Sherlock looked a little confused. "Remember, with the werewolf?"

"Yes, of course," Sherlock said nodding as he pulled forth the story Rose had told him about tangling with a werewolf, though Rose said it wasn't of earth. She'd told him it had an alien name, but she couldn't remember what the Doctor had called it; something about lupine was all she could remember.

"So I think that by going back to before the split we went back to the original universe. Because this universe didn't exist before the split," Rose said and Mickey was nodding his head.

"So how come we came back to this future and not a future in the other universe?" Sherlock asked before he took a bite of the biscuit Rose had handed him.

"That I'm not 100 percent sure on. It probably has something to do with the technology itself. Something about it belongs here, and not there." Rose shrugged her shoulders then leaned forwards and put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. "We'll give this info to the scientists who developed the Time Hoppers and see what they think about it."

"You gonna write this up?" Mickey asked and Rose sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," She said nodding her head. "I hate paperwork."

"Better you then me babe," Mickey said with a smirk. Sherlock watched the exchange with mild amusement. At first Mickey's use of the nickname 'babe' had bothered Sherlock, not that he was jealous, because that was for much less developed minds, but it had bothered him none the less. But he understood now that it was nothing more than a name born of deep affection and trust.

"Thanks Mickey," Rose said with a bit of bite. "Sherlock, you don't have to stay through this, I'll probably be at least an hour."

"I drove in so I can give you a lift back to your flat," Mickey said with a welcoming smile.

"Why are you here?" Rose asked, she hadn't thought it odd at first, but it was after 9 and Mickey was never here that late. Mickey looked over at her and she saw a slight blush color his cheeks. "Pete called you, didn't he?"

"He just wanted me to make sure you came back ok, have someone around in case I needed to come save your arse from something," Mickey said with a shrug and Rose chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, cause that happens so often." Rose said with a shake of her head. "Go home, watch the end of whatever match is on telly."

"Actually I'm meeting someone for a late dinner," he said with a bright smile and Rose nodded her head.

"Is this someone a girl?" Rose asked and he shrugged. But anyone could see by the look on his face that it was in fact a girl.

"I met her the other day when we had to infiltrate the hospital because there were weevils in their basement." Mickey told her and Rose nodded, that had taken a while to clean up. "Her name's Martha, she's a doctor." He said and Rose chuckled nodding her head. He stood up and looked down at his watch. "She'll just be finishing up her rotation."

"You comin' mate?" he asked looking at Sherlock with a smile. Sherlock shook his head.

"I'll get a cab with Rose when she's done," Sherlock said and Mickey smirked then shrugged. "But thank you."

"Have a good night you two," Mickey said before he turned and headed out of the galley.

~*~Dinner~*~

Sherlock grumbled as Rose forced him into his nicer shirt and slacks. He grumbled as she made him put on a tie, "it's a nice restaurant Sherlock." He grumbled as she helped him into his jacket and scarf. And then, just to make sure he'd gotten his point across he grumbled a bit as she hailed them a cab. He was mostly doing it for show, he knew that when Rose asked, he'd go, but he couldn't let her think it was only that easy or he'd end up doing all kinda of 'ordinary' things like going to dinner with friends and their new girlfriends.

"We do dinner all the time with John and Mary," Rose said and he slumped back in his seat a bit.

"Yes, well John has the good sense to never refer to it as a 'double date'" Sherlock sneered and Rose laughed.

"I assume your mood will improve once we get there?" Rose asked as she placed her hand on his knee.

"I'll be on my best behavior," He snapped and Rose giggled.

"Oh dear," Rose said with a smirk. "I don't suppose you could be on John's best behavior?" She asked with a smile and he glared at her.

"I would have been perfectly happy at home, I have an experiment that's-

"I was just kidding Sherlock. " Rose said leaning over to kiss his cheek. "It's just, I haven't gotten to spend as much time with Mickey lately, and I don't want his new girlfriend to not like me."

Sherlock shifted a little and Rose laid her head on his shoulder. He knew she was worried about how little she'd gotten to see Mickey lately. He was her best mate and the only time they spent together lately was on missions, and you couldn't do much talking while fighting or negotiating with aliens. He resolved to try his best with this woman, she was a doctor after all; she couldn't be too slow.

"It will be fine," He said rubbing her shoulder. It had been two weeks since their little adventure with the Time Hoppers. Sherlock had watched Rose closely for the first few days, but she'd shown no signs of regret at not saying something to the Doctor. He felt her relax into his side and smiled. No matter how many times she'd told him in the past that she wasn't waiting for the Doctor to show back up, some part of him had always wondered how true that was. Now having seen, first hand, just how true it was put his mind at ease in a way it never had been before. "People can't help but like you." Sherlock said truthfully and Rose smirked in the dark cab.

"Thank you Sherlock," Rose said tugging lightly on his scarf.

They arrived at the restaurant right on time and Sherlock hated that it was so posh. His brother had brought him here once a while ago, for dinner with their parents. The maître d took their coats with a smile and Sherlock stopped. He hadn't seen the dress Rose was wearing yet, or more precisely, had not paid it any mind while she put her coat on because of his grumbling. He reached out and took her hand as he took her in. She was wearing a dress of deep red again, though it was shorter and sleeveless it still reminded him of their time in 1599 and he smiled.

"I like your dress," he said looking her in the eyes and she smiled back.

"I was wondering if you noticed," She said as she spun around to show him the back. "It has a corset back too." She said and he reached out and ran his fingers lightly over the corseted back.

"Isn't that... interesting." Sherlock said and Rose noticed his voice had dropped just a little.

"Down boy," Rose said turning back to smile at him, though it was rather suggestive. "We're having dinner, remember?"

"Right," Sherlock said blinking once. "Right," he said clearing his voice just a little. "Is the rest of our party here yet?" He asked turning to the maître d who had a clearly amused smile on his face. "It's under Smith."

"Yes, they just sat down about 5 minutes before you arrived," he said and Rose took a deep breath and smiled. "Right this way." He said holding his hand out towards a hall to the side. "A privet room," Rose smiled even bigger now. Sherlock would probably like that, no one staring at them. He opened a door to a room, it wasn't small, but you could easily fit 50 people in it comfortably. Mickey was sitting facing them, when he smiled and waved the woman next to him put down her menu and smiled brightly at them. Rose almost stopped dead in her tracks.

"Rose, isn't that-

"Yes," Rose said in a barely audible whisper. "She'd not the same, different woman." She said and Sherlock nodded his head. But really, what were the odds that the woman sitting across for Mickey was the same (only not) woman they'd seen traveling with the Doctor a few weeks ago. Rose smiled when they arrived at the table.

"Rose, Sherlock, I'd like you to meet Martha." Mickey said and Martha stood and smiled brightly.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you," Martha said as she reached out and hugged Rose. "And you Sherlock, I've got to admit, I'm a bit of a fan." She said with a small chuckle and Rose tried not to tense at the words, Sherlock was not big on his 'fans.'

"Always lovely to meet a fan," he said easily with a smile and Rose relaxed. "Shall we sit?" He said and they all took their seats.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly," The maître d said before he left them alone. Rose picked up her menu and looked it over before smiling at Sherlock then mock glaring at Mickey.

"French Mickey, why a French restaurant, you don't even speak French." Rose said with a chuckle and Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"Je peux maintenant" Mickey said, and though his accent was terrible Sherlock nodded his head in approval.

"He said he can now." Sherlock said and Rose laughed.

"I thought you said learning French was useless, course that was just your excuse for failing it in school," Rose said and Mickey laughed as well.

"J'ai commencé à pencher il y'a environs 6 mois." Mickey said and Rose had to admit she was very impressed. "I've been studying for six months or so." He translated for Rose and she smiled. "I picked it up a lot faster this time. Think it has something to do with all the travel we did with John." And with that last sentence he'd told Rose a lot about how much of his life he'd told Martha about.

"I think he picked a French restaurant to impress me," Martha said and Mickey smirked and shrugged, like he'd been caught out.

"Anyway," Mickey said and Rose chuckled. "I ordered us a bottle of champagne, hope that's okay?"

"Sounds good," Rose said and she picked up her menu again then looked at Sherlock. "A little help?" She asked and now it was his turn to chuckle.

"They do a very good steak here," He said and Rose nodded her head. "It's normally served with a type of rise I think you'll really like."

"Okay, I'll try it." She said nodding her head, putting the menu back down. "So Mickey tells me you two met at the hospital?" Rose asked probing for more information. She had not been with him on the mission, so she wasn't sure how much Martha had seen. Martha nodded her head then she looked at Sherlock before she leaned into Mickey and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh, yeah, you're fine there." Mickey said with a smirk. "Sherlock found out a bit like you did. Only he was chasing the alien, not being chased by it."

"Ok," Martha said nodding her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I wasn't sure-

"No need to be sorry," Sherlock said with an easy smile and a shake of his head. "I'm sure both Rose and Mickey appreciate your discretion."

"So Mickey told you about what he does then?" Rose asked and Mickey blushed just a little.

"Some," Martha said nodding her head. They all looked up as the door opened and a man walked in carrying a bucket and a bottle of champagne. They all smiled when he popped the cork and poured them each a glass.

"Are we ready to order?" He asked in a very slight French accent. Everyone nodded then Mickey and Sherlock ordered for themselves and then the girls in turn.

"Just that aliens are real and that you guys work to keep things safe between them and us," Martha said once the waiter was gone. She gave Mickey a sidelong look then smirked at Rose. "Though I'm sure there's quite a bit more to it than that."

"Of course there is," Rose said nodding her head before she picked up her drink.

At the end of the night as they were getting their coats on Rose stepped up next to Mickey and smiled. Sherlock and Martha were discussing some medical procedure animatedly. Rose put her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"She's great Mick," Rose said as they both watched Sherlock and Martha talk.

"I like to think so," He said with a smile. He'd been sure Rose would like her; they both had a very open, spirited personality. He was a little surprised by how much Sherlock put into making a good impression. But looking down at Rose he decided he probably shouldn't be. He knew Sherlock would do anything for her, and so being nice to Rose's best friend's new girlfriend shouldn't shock him.

"You need to bring her into Torchwood, get her a level one clearance, since she knows what she knows and all that. Then she'll be able to come have lunch and stuff with you. You know, if you're serious about her," Rose told him and he squeezed her shoulder.

"I am," He said and Rose nodded her head. She could see that herself, and she was so happy for him. "I'll do it on Monday; she's free in the morning."

"Cool, I'll be there Monday morning, we can all get breakfast; they have waffles in the galley on Mondays."

"I know," Mickey said with a happy smile on his face.

~*~After~*~

"I liked her," Rose said sitting back into Sherlocks arms in the cab. "She'll keep Mickey on his toes."

"She was very intelligent." Sherlock said nodding his head and Rose smiled. "Do you think Mickey picked up the French so much better because of the..." He trailed off and looked up at the cab driver. "Because of what the TARDIS does?" he said a bit quieter.

"It's a possibility," Rose said rolling her shoulders. "It could also be that Mickey is almost ten years older than he was when he failed French and knows how to study now." Rose said with a chuckle and Sherlock laughed.

"Is your back bothering you?" Sherlock asked when Rose shifted a bit and stretched her back.

"I just spent about 3 hours in front of a computer today doing paper work, I hate it. Always leaves me with a stiff back." Rose said with a sigh.

"Ah," Sherlock said running his hand down her back, over the corset strings. He tugged on one of them lightly. "Maybe I could rub your back for you when we get home." Rose looked up at him and smiled sweetly. She could see in his eyes that he was thinking of a lot more than a back rub.

"I think that sounds wonderful." Rose said reaching up and kissing him on the check.

~*~Gone~*~

"I've done this before you know," Rose said after she'd listened to Pete go over the rules of the time hoppers for the third time. "I promise I know what I'm doing."

"I know you have," He said nodding his head. "It's just with everything that happened when you went back with Sherlock, it's worrying me."

"Pete," Rose said smiling at him. "Dad, you know all our best people went over it, they said it's perfectly safe. That I can only come back to this universe, not matter how far back I go."

"I know," He said nodding his head. Rose reached over and picked up one of the time hoppers and strapped it on.

"How long till we have a dedicated team for this?" Rose asked and Pete looked up at her with surprise in his eyes. "Oh come on, what else would they have created these for if not to have a team time traveling."

"Probably within the next few months," Pete finally said and Rose nodded her head.

"You're still keeping it strictly trips to the past right?" She asked and Pete nodded his head. "Because you know how dangerous future knowledge can be."

"I know," Pete said and Rose nodded her head. "And everyone has read your paper and when they can and can't interfere, they know what to look for."

"Okay," Rose said nodding her head. "Well tell mum I'll be by for Sunday tea this weekend, ok?"

"I will," He said nodding his head. "Don't you need to get changed?"

"Yep, I'm heading back as soon as you go," She said and he laughed and nodded his head. Rose reached up and took off her necklace as Pete headed towards the doors. She opened the drawer under the time hoppers where people put their items that were 'out of time' with where they were going. Her eyes went wide when she had the drawer open. Sitting inside was a small round silver device about the size of a bowl. It was counting down, counting down was never a good thing, it was on 5 now. She vaguely heard the doors to the lab swing shut before she swept the room, thankful it was empty but for her.

Pete had only taken a few steps away from the door when the floor began to shake. Not even a moment later he was being blasted back into a wall, smoke filling the hall. He heard the emergency sirens go on and he groaned when he tried to sit up. He blinked his eyes open and could only see fire and smoke, the lab he'd just exited was in ruins. His arms gave out and he sank back to the floor. He reached up and touched his head and drew his hand back, his vision was blurry but he could see the blood on his fingers. The room began to spin but he was pretty sure it was only due to his head wound. He blinked and had to fight to open them again. God, Rose had been in there, had she gotten out in time? His head swam again and this time he couldn't fight off the dizziness that pulled him under like a tide.


	3. Passing Time

Chapter 3 ~*~ Passing Time

Mickey was not sure he could do this. It had been decided that he'd be the best person to inform Sherlock about the accident. The fact that they insisted on calling it that made his blood boil. It had been sabotage, plain and simple and now his best friend was... He couldn't even finish the thought. Pete was in hospital, comatose, and the doctors weren't sure if he'd ever wake up. Jackie was beyond herself with grief. He squeezed his hands into fists and took a deep breath. He'd decided he could not do this alone, so he had looked up an address in their files. Finally he lifted his hand and knocked on the front door. It took a minute then Mickey heard movement behind the door. John opened the door and he had a bright smile and was about to open his mouth in welcome when he took in the look on Mickeys face.

"What happened? Is it Sherlock and Rose?" John demanded and Mickey took another deep breath.

"Sherlock is fine, but there was an explosion at Torchwood. Rose is..." He trailed off and tears prickled his eyes. "Rose is..." He still couldn't say it and all the color in his face drained as they stood there in silence.

"John what's going on?" Mary asked when she came up to the door. Rosie tucked into her arms.

"Rose is dead," John said dully finishing the sentence that Mickey was unable to.

"No!" Mary denied looking to Mickey, but she could see in his eyes it was true. Mickey closed his eyes hard and cleared his throat.

"I'm supposed to tell Sherlock," he said and he unclenched his fists. "I can't do it alone," he said with a pleading look in his eyes.

"It's okay Mickey," Mary said reaching out and taking his hand. "It's..." she trailed off as a few tears fell down her face. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Let me call our sitter, she lives just down the street. We'll go with you. You don't have to do this alone."

~*~Sherlock~*~

Thirty minutes later they were all in Johns' car heading towards 221 B Baker Street. Mickey was sitting in the back seat, his face blank. John wasn't sure how they were going to do this. He was worried about Sherlock. This was going to crush him and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to come back from it. He looked back at Mickey again and had to ask.

"Was there, was it an accident?" John asked and Mickey looked a bit surprised, like he'd forgotten there were people with him.

"No," Mickey said flatly, "There was a bomb of some kind. Rose's dad, Pete, he's in hospital, in a coma. Rose was the only one in the lab when it... when it exploded." Mary gave a little sob and John put his hand on her leg. They both knew that this was going to be a hundred times harder for Sherlock and they had to be there for him. They all fell silent again as they nears Sherlocks' flat. John parked in a 'no parking' spot, but he didn't really care. They all climbed out and looked up at the flat.

"He's..." John started and Mary took his hand. "He's not going to handle this well." John said and Mickey nodded his head. They all walked in, John using his key. John was glad when Mrs. Hudson didn't open her door, hopefully she was out. He stopped at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before unlocking the door. He stepped in followed by Mary and Mickey. He could hear Sherlock in the kitchen.

"Rose, you're home early-" he stopped when he rounded the corner and saw them all standing there. "Rose isn't due home for an hour, so if you're hoping to drag her out to dinner you're going to have to wait." He told them, and then he took a slightly closer look at their faces. "Why is Mary crying?"

"Sherlock, somethings happened," John said and Sherlocks' head flicked to John.

"There was a..." Mickey trailed off when Sherlock turned his attention to him. "Something happened at Torchwood and..." He trailed off again, something about the look on Sherlock's face made him pause. "There was a bomb and..." He trailed off again and Sherlocks face contorted in anger.

"Just say it Mickey!" Sherlock yelled and Mickey and Mary flinched.

"Rose is dead," he said finally and watched as Sherlocks' face fell. His whole demeanor changed suddenly he was no longer intimidating or scary. Sherlock looked to John and Mary and shook his head taking a step back. His face shifted through a few emotions then he looked at Mickey.

"How do you know?" he said after a moment and Mickey was taking back.

"What?" He asked and John took a deep breath.

"How do you know Rose is...?" he trailed off and Mickey was still a little lost. Sherlock turned and began to pace the living room "Is there a body, there must be something that leads you to believe Rose is... How do you know?" He seemed unable to say the words either.

"She was in the lab when it exploded," Mickey said and Sherlock turned slowly towards him, his head cocked to the side.

"Which lab?" he asked and John was confused. He'd been expecting anger, maybe even screaming and violence, but this, this pre-Rose detached Sherlock was, wrong.

"The..." Mickey looked to his side at Mary and John then shook his head, he didn't really care about top secret at the moment. "The Time Hoppers Lab," he finally said and Sherlock nodded his head. "There is no body, there was nothing left." Mickey said and Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "The only think they could dig out of the rubble was this." Mickey said reaching into his pocket and pulling out something. All John could see was that it was a tangled mess of what looked to be some kind of chain.

"It's made from iridium, its melting point is 4449 degrees," Sherlock said as he held out his hand for it. Mickey held it out to him and Sherlock took it from his hand. The chain seemed to be stuck together, but it was not melted. When Sherlock looked at it he could see it was stuck together because the emerald had melted around it.

"Sherlock, what-"

"How long did the fire burn?" Sherlock asked and now he almost seemed to be excited about something. "A minute, maybe two?" He asked looking down at what had once been Rose's necklace. "Rose told me all about the safety protocols they have there." He said now looking skeptical. "And you really think her body was destroyed in one minute?"

"The explosion-

"Couldn't have destroyed her whole body, if it was that strong it would have taken out the whole floor, not just that lab," Sherlock said cutting him off and John was standing there in shock. Why did any of this matter? Rose was dead, if she was in the room when the bomb went off, why did it matter how much of her body they found.

"Sherlock, the techs combed the area, they're pretty sure they found pieces for all the Time Hoppers, she didn't-"

"Pretty sure?" Sherlock said with a bitter laugh. "And you're just going to assume she'd dead on 'pretty sure?'" Sherlock closed his fist around the necklace and shook his head as he stuffed it in his pocket. "Of course you would just assume she's dead. Slow little minds." He mocked at Mickey with a scowl.

"Sherlock-"

"Get out," Sherlock said turning away from all of them as he cut John off. "I need to go to my Mind Palace."

"Sherlock really-"

"I said GET OUT!" He yelled cutting off John again and pointing at the door. John took Mary's hand and tugged her towards the door.

"Come on Mickey," John said touching Mickeys' arm. Mickey jumped a little and when he turned to look at John he had a very odd look on his face. They all walked out and John closed the door behind him but he didn't go any farther.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," John said looking back at the door still a bit confused, hurting because he'd just lost a very good friend and his best friend had just lost the most important person in his life. "He might need me later. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said nodding her head. "I'll get Rosie and-" She stopped and closed her eyes for a long moment taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Poor Sherlock," she said and John pulled her into a hug. Mickey just stood there and watched as everything Sherlock had said poured over him. They had all just assumed Rose was dead, was it possible, could there really be any kind of a chance?

"Mickey, I'll give you a ride home," Mary said pulling him from his thoughts.

"Thanks," Mickey said vaguely with a nod of his head.

~*~Doubt~*~

Sherlock had been pacing the living room since John and Mary left to go to Rose's funeral. He knew she wasn't dead, she must have used a Time Hopper and hopped forward, he just had to wait. He was so sure she was fine. Pete was still in a coma, so he couldn't talk to him, but he knew Pete would have important information. He knew Rose had had a Time Hopper on, there was no other reason she would have taken off her necklace, it was the only time she did.

He looked up when there was a knock on his door. He didn't want to deal with John and his infuriating sympathy right now. But he also knew ignoring him would do no good seeing as he had a key. Maybe he should have the locks changed?

"Mr. Holmes?" The voice was feminine and it took him a moment to place it. He walked over to the door and opened it. Jackie Tyler, Rose's mum, was standing on the other side of the door.

"If you've come demanding to know why I wasn't at Rose's-"

"I don't think she's dead either," Jackie said cutting him off and his eyes went wide. "Everyone said I needed to have a funeral, to begin the grieving process, but my daughter is not dead," Jackie said harshly and Sherlock moved back from the door and she stepped into the flat. It was the first time she'd been here. Rose kept saying how she'd like to have her over for tea, but she'd never invited her.

"Would you like some tea?" Sherlock asked, he remembered Rose once said tea was her mother's answer to all of life's problems.

"I'd like that, thank you Mr. Holmes." Jackie said nodding her head.

"Please, call me Sherlock; when I hear 'Mr. Holmes' I look around for my insufferable brother." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled as they walked towards the kitchen.

Once the tea was made and Sherlock had dug out some biscuits that Rose favored they sat down at the table. Sherlock had gotten out the cream and sugar, in case Jackie took tea like her daughter. She fixed her tea quietly and then they just sat there for a few minutes in silence. He knew, being a mother, Jackie would want to deny the fact that her daughter was dead, all mothers would. So he wondered if she had another reason, or just didn't want to believe her daughter was dead.

"Why do you think Rose is alive?" He asked, keeping his voice even, knowing he could be harsh when he was looking for answers and he didn't want to alienate the one person who might be thinking along the same lines as him.

"After the explosion they took Pete to the Torchwood hospital, and when I got there the doctor told me he was in and out of consciousness, but he wasn't speaking. When I got to his room and he saw me he tried to speak, before he lost consciousness and fell into the coma he said 'Time' twice. I could tell by his tone it was important to him. The doctors were sure it was just babble. But they don't know about the Time Hoppers. I'm not even supposed to know, but when Rose got picked to start testing it Pete felt like he needed to tell me."

"And you're assuming he was trying to tell you she had a Time Hopper on?" Sherlock asked, before he stood and walked over to the mantel. He picked something up and walked back over to the table.

"Yes, that's what I think." Jackie said nodding her head. He set the bundle of a chain down on the table and sat back down.

"This is Rose's necklace; I got it for her for Christmas." Sherlock told her and Jackie nodded with a small smile at him.

"She loved that necklace; she's going to be well gutted when she sees the state it's in." Jackie said and Sherlock took a deep breath and nodded. It was so nice to hear someone other than him speak about Rose in the present tense.

"I'll replace it, when she gets back." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled at him. "But look, if you look closely you can see the clasp was undone when the emerald melted. The clasp is totally intact. Which means Rose had taken it off, the only time she ever takes it off is right before a Time Hop."

"So you really believe it too," Jackie said nodding her head with tears in her eyes. "It's not just denial; you really believe she's coming back."

"I do, yes," Sherlock said nodding his head.

"Did Rose ever tell you I thought she was dead for a whole year?" Jackie asked and Sherlock nodded his head. He knew that story well and it made him angry at the Doctor, how could he be so irresponsible with someone else's life like that? "I thought Mickey might have killed her." Sherlock scoffed and Jackie nodded her head and chuckled. "Yeah looking back it was pretty ridiculous. She was just off traveling with _him._" Jackie sobered and reached across the table and put her hand over Sherlocks. Sherlock looked down at her hand but didn't remove his. He looked up when she started to talk again. "I gave up on her back then, but she came back to me and she'll come back to us now, I believe in her." He turned his hand over and squeezed her hand once.

"As do I," he told her and she smiled, even though she had tears in her eyes.

~*~Helping~*~

The first week after Rose's funeral Molly showed up with a hand that needed some tests done, they were looking for a specific poison that dissipated quickly, and she was hoping he could find traces of it in the fingernails. She smiled at him, though it didn't reach her eyes, but she didn't tell him she was sorry for his loss, warned off by John he was sure. Everyone was being very careful with him these days. It was starting to irritate him; they were treating him like a bit of a moron.

"So, do you think you can find it?" Molly asked after she'd explained everything to him.

"Should be easy," he said putting the hand in the freezer. "I'll let you know by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest."

"That would be great, thank you." Molly said nodding her head. She wanted to ask him how he was doing; she wanted to be sure he was okay. He looked okay, he didn't look sad or drawn in, he certainly didn't look like he was doing drugs again, which she knew was something John was afraid of.

"I'm fine Molly," Sherlock said after watching the thoughts swim through her head. "And when Rose comes back you can all get back to your normal lives."

Three weeks after Rose's 'death' Lestrade showed up with a mind boggling case that involved a prized poodle and a pirate. That had kept him busy for almost a whole week. He'd gone to call Rose twice throughout it and his fingers twitched to take her hand when he'd been chasing down the pirate. After he solved the case Lestrade had another case, and Sherlock knew what he was doing.

A month after her 'death' Mycroft showed up. Sherlock was surprised it had taken him so long to show up. But then he knew Mycroft could see him just about any time he wanted walking through the streets of London.

"Mycroft, what are you doing here?" Sherlock asked putting down his violin to stare at his brother. Mycroft for his part didn't have the same perpetually sad eyes that everyone else seemed to walk around with these days. The only other person who didn't was Jackie. He'd found himself seeking out her company twice now since her original visit. He'd gone so far as to go to the hospital where Pete was to check on him. Though Jackie seemed to know it was in part because he wanted Pete to wake up and tell them where Rose was.

"Just wanted to see how you're doing," Mycroft said as he walked in and sat in John's chair.

"Why don't you just ask that dolt you've been having follow me?" Sherlock asked, though he didn't sneer as much as he normally would have.

"Well, good help is hard to find," Mycroft said with a sigh. He leaned forward a little and Sherlock could feel his eyes searching his face. "You really believe she's alive don't you?"

"What do you care?" Sherlock asked walking over to his laptop and opening it. "You don't even like Rose."

"On the contrary little brother, I've grown...fond of Ms. Tyler." Mycroft said with a small smile. Sherlock smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, I really do believe it." Sherlock finally said and Mycroft nodded his head. He wasn't sure if Sherlock was living in some state of denial or if he had information Mycroft did not. Either way he could see his brother was not spiraling out of control as he'd feared he would when he'd heard about Ms. Tyler death. Mycroft sat there with him for a few minutes before bidding him farewell and leaving.

Mrs. Hudson came by with food far more often then she used too. She commented on the fact that he seemed to be keeping the flat in pretty good order, though she left off the 'now that Rose is gone' part of the comment, even though Sherlock heard it in his head. It had been two months now since Rose had disappeared and part of him was starting to lose hope. Would she really have gone so far forward? What if she'd gone backwards and her Time Hopper got broken? What if she was stuck back there? Would she have left him some kind of note or a postdated letter if that was the case? He'd spent two days searching all the places they'd been together with no luck. He decided she must have gone forward in time.

Mary brought Rosie by a few times, always with no agenda, just because she knew, though he never said it, that Rosie brought him some comfort. Rosie didn't look at him like he'd lost his mind because he believed Rose was alive. She simply smiled at him and drooled on his shoulder as he talked to her about whatever case he was working on.

"What's that?" Mary asked as she made tea. There was a long white box sitting on the counter, about the size of a jewelry box. Sherlock looked up from talking to Rosie and tried not to sigh. He knew she was going to give him a pitying look when he told her that he'd had Rose's necklace remade, for when she got back.

"It's for Rose," he said looking back down at Rosie, who was smiling at him and waving a toy in his face. Mary nodded her head and wondered how long Sherlock was going to hold on to this hope that Rose was alive. No one could have survived an explosion the size Mickey had described.

"Okay," she said picking up the tea she'd made them both. She didn't argue with him, or tell him, again, that Rose was dead. She knew it would do no good.

"You're not going to tell me I'm being stubborn?" Sherlock asked finally looking back up. "That Rose is dead and I need to mourn her and move on?"

"No," Mary said handing him his tea and sitting down in Johns chair. Sherlock looked at her skeptically. He knew she didn't suddenly believe him, but he'd take her acceptance of his belief. "What are you working on now?" Mary asked and Sherlock began to tell her about his newest case.

John didn't come by as much as Sherlock had thought he would. The few times John came by he did nothing but talk about whatever case Sherlock was working on. He was careful not to mention Rose, or anything to do with her. So it surprised him when John showed up at about 8pm a few days before the three month mark of Rose's 'death.' He walked in to find Sherlock organizing Rose's bookshelf. She had accumulated many books over the last few months that she read on her down time. He'd read every single one of them since she'd been gone. He was actually looking forward to telling her that he'd finally broken down and read the Harry Potter series, and she'd been right, he'd loved it. Though Rose was the only person he'd ever admit that too.

"John, what are you doing here so late?" Sherlock asked standing up off the floor. The flat was clean; Sherlock was putting a conscious effort into keeping it looking nice. He didn't want Rose to think he was incapable of taking care of himself, even if it was a tiny bit true.

"What are you doing?" John asked as Sherlock walked towards the kitchen. He'd made himself a cup of coffee earlier but forgotten about it. John followed him into the kitchen. He was surprised by how clean the flat looked. It almost worried him that Sherlock was keeping it so clean. He knew Sherlock was still waiting for Rose to come home. Mary had told him to leave him be, but John was starting to worry for Sherlocks' mental health. It couldn't be healthy to be in such a deep state of denial. Sherlock picked up his coffee and took a drink of the cold liquid. He could see the critical look on John's face and raised an eyebrow. He knew what was coming and he was trying not to get angry at the fact that John was so unwilling to listen to Sherlocks' reasoning.

"Well, say what you came to say then John, I have things to work on." Sherlock told him, his voice slightly cold. John took a deep breath and looked around the flat.

"It's been almost three months Sherlock," John started as though Sherlock wasn't aware of how long it had been, right down to the seconds. "Don't you think you should-?"

"What John?" Sherlock demanded as he slammed his cup down on the counter sloshing it all over. He was tired of this speech, tired of defending himself to his friends. "Move on? Pack up her stuff?" He said indicating the living room, which had small touches of Rose everywhere. "Do you understand that if I 'accept' that Rose is gone there will be nowhere to go but down?" He knew that if Rose was gone, if he had to someday accept she wasn't coming back there would be nothing left for him here. Rose had changed him in a very profound way and he could not go back to who he was before her. If she was gone he would sink down into a pit he would not be able to, or willing to, pull himself out of. "I know you all expected me to turn back to drugs when this all happened." He said and John winced slightly at the accusation.

"Sherlock we just-"

"And don't think for a second you've been sneaky with everyone's routine 'drop by's' or the 'just checking in.' Or the fact that Molly has been by once a week since it happened with some body part she needs analyzed or the fact that Lestrade has kept a steady stream of cases coming my way. You're all so transparent." He sneered even though he knew they were only looking out for him. "If I wanted to I would have found a way around all of you to get to what I wanted. But I know, _when_ Rose gets back she'd be disappointed. She'd understand, because that's what she does. But she'd still be disappointed and I will _not_ disappoint her. So you really want me to believe she's not coming back John?! Do you really want me to accept that? Because I promise you, you _will_ _not_ like the results!" He was breathing hard and his eyes looked wild. John had never seen him look so scared in all his time with Sherlock.

"No," John finally said shaking his head. "No I want you to believe it as long as it takes." Whether that was believing it till he was proven right or long enough not to fall apart when she didn't come back, John didn't care. So long as he didn't lose Rose and Sherlock. Sherlock took a deep breath and turned around and pulled a washcloth off the sink to clean up his spilled coffee, and then he put the cup in the sink and sighed.

"Would you like a cup of coffee John?" He asked and John recognized the gesture for what it was and nodded his head. He walked to the fridge for the cream and was unsurprised to find a full bottle of the French vanilla creamer Rose favored on the top shelf. He made himself a cup of coffee then followed Sherlock into the living room. They sat down in their chairs and John took a deep breath.

"Okay, I want to understand Sherlock." John said and Sherlock gave him a puzzled look. "Why do you think Rose is alive, tell me everything." So Sherlock did.

~*~Time~*~

The room sizzled as the air swished around a bit, there was a small 'pop' and Rose was standing in the half cleaned wreckage of the lab she'd just been in. She swore as she looked around. She could tell by the state of the room that this was not the three days she'd been trying to jump, it was much cleaner then it would be in only three days. It had all happened so fast and she knew she was lucky to have escaped at all. She took a deep breath as the slightly dizzy feeling overcame her. She hadn't been able to prepare herself before the jump and her head was swimming a little. When she could she took a tentative step forward and smiled lightly. Well, at least she wasn't going to faint. She took another few steps towards the door before it was flung open and Mickey, eyes wide with shock, was standing there staring at her.

"Rose?" he said and his voice shook just a little. "You're really here," he said and Rose was surprised by his shock. Surely Pete would have told them she'd had a time hopper on, they had to know she'd jumped forward, right?

"Yeah, course I am," she said and then he was running to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Sherlock said but I never quite let myself believe." Mickey said and Rose was confused.

"Sherlock said what?" She asked when he took a step back.

"That you weren't dead," Mickey said and now it was Rose's turn to look shocked. She ran her hands through her hair and took a deep breath.

"You thought I was dead? Why? Didn't Pete tell you I'd had a Time Hopper on? Why would everyone assume I was dead?" Rose asked as worry stared to swirl in her belly.

"Rose, Pete was only a few feet from the doors when that bomb went off. He was in a coma for almost two months," Mickey told her and Rose swore again. "When he woke up he couldn't remember anything about the day of the explosion. His last memories were from having dinner the night before. He's doing fine now, but he still has no memories from that day."

"Oh god Mickey, how's my mum doing? And Sherlock?" She was almost afraid to know what Sherlock was going through.

"Your mum and Sherlock, they never thought you were dead." Mickey said with a small smile on his face. "They've ah, bonded a bit over it actually," Mickey said and Rose laughed trying to picture it.

"How long has it been Mickey?" Rose asked and he shifted from foot to foot. Shit, so a lot longer than three days. Buy the look on his face she'd guess longer than three weeks too. "Mickey?"

"You disappeared three months ago today," he said and Rose took a deep breath then she pushed past him and out the doors. There were a few people who stopped and looked at her, shock written all over their faces.

"Where are you going?" Mickey asked as he followed her out.

"I'm going home Mickey," she said as she sped up a little, pushing past people as they stopped in front of her. "Call my mum, tell her everything, and tell her I'll be there in a little while." She was practically running as she shoved her way towards the stairs. Mickey followed her into the stairwell; she was full out sprinting now, skipping two and three steps at a time. Rose crashed out the doors on the ground floor and more people turned to look at her. She ran past the front desk and skirted security smoothly.

"It's okay," Mickey said as they looked stunned and weren't quite sure what to do, you were supposed to check out through security before you left, but they'd just watched a dead woman run past. He turned to the girl behind the front desk. "I need you to inform the Director that Rose Tyler is alive, I've got to call her mum." He said pulling out his mobile.

Rose stopped running as soon as she reached the street. She took a few deep breaths then hailed the nearest cab. She climbed in and told the driver the address. She couldn't sit still, she was dreading seeing what state Sherlock might be in. Mickey had said he didn't believe she was dead, but he could still be in a very bad place. Oh God what was she going to find at home?

"I'll triple your rate if you get me there in five minutes," Rose told him and the guy smirked at her and nodded his head, hitting the gas. She tried to tell herself that he'd be fine; John and Mary would have kept him sane, even Mycroft would have helped. The cab stopped at the curb 4 minutes later and she swore when she realized she didn't have her wallet.

"You recognized me when I got in, I could tell," she told the driver and he nodded. Sometimes being in the tabloids could be mildly helpful.

"Dead girls don't often grab a cab though," he said and Rose nodded her head. She grabbed a pen that was sitting on the floor and scribbled a phone number and an amount on a piece of paper that she found in one of her pockets.

"You call that number and tell him Rose Tyler took your cab and promised you this much, yeah?" He took the piece of paper and his eyes went wide.

"Will do," he said and Rose smiled and jumped out of the cab. She walked up to the door and swore again, she didn't have her keys, shit she was two for two so far. She knocked on the door and hopped Sherlock would answer, even as unlikely as it was. She was not surprised when Mrs. Hudson opened the door. Mrs. Hudson gasped and her hands went to her mouth and her eyes went wide when she saw her and Rose smiled. She leaned in and kissed her check quickly.

"Later yeah?" Rose asked pushing passed her gently and running up the stairs. She knew during the day Sherlock kept the door unlocked so that Mrs. Hudson could bring up clients. She could hear the violin playing on the other side of the door and took a deep breath. She turned the nob and pushed the door open slowly, Sherlock kept playing.

"If you've brought more tea I've not finished what you brought an hour ago Mrs. Hudson." He said airily and Rose smiled at his tone. Mrs. Hudson had been taking care of him while she was gone. She'd have to send her flowers, dozens of them.

"No, I didn't bring any tea," the bow screeched across the strings and Rose winced slightly at the terrible sound. He turned slowly as he lowered the violin and when he was facing her he had a smug smile on his face.

"Ms. Tyler, you're very late," he said as he set the violin down and opened his arms. She ran straight to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted her up so he could kiss her and Rose laughed when he pulled back.

"I'm so sorry," she said as tears fell down her cheeks and he nodded then kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her neck and her hair. "Mickey told me everyone thought I was dead."

"I didn't," he said in-between kissing her. He couldn't stop kissing her, and his hold around her waist only tightened. "No one but your mother believed me. I knew you weren't dead." He said and this time he kissed her mouth deeply and Rose sighed into the kiss. She vaguely heard the front door close and decided Mrs. Hudson needed flowers and chocolate, a year's supply, once a week. Sherlock let go of her waist only to bend down and sweep his arm under her legs so he was carrying her, and she giggled when he kissed her again.

"I need to go see mum, she's going to be waiting," she told him and this time when he kissed her she plunged her hands into his hair as he deepened the kiss. He pulled away with a look of such longing it took Rose's breath away. "Later," she said pulling him back down for another kiss as he headed towards their room.

~*~Home~*~

Rose was pulling on her shirt when there was a knock, well a pounding, on the front door. Rose laughed when Sherlock smirked at her. She ran her hands through her hair, though she knew at once her mum would know what they'd been doing. Sherlock was pulling his pants on still when Rose ran from the room giggling.

"Rose Tyler you better open this door right now!" Jackie yelled as she pounded on the door again.

"I'm sorry mum," she said as she opened the door. "I was just-"

"Oh I'm sure I know what you were 'just'!" Jackie said with a stern look before it broke and she surged forward with a happy sob and wrapped her arms around Rose. Sherlock came walking over and she was surprised by the bright smile on his face.

"Tea Jackie?" he asked and Rose felt her mum nod her head.

"Thank you Sherlock," Jackie said as she pulled away looking from his back to Rose. "Though I should throttle you both, leaving me at home waiting for you, you're just lucky Mickey called."

"I told Mickey to call you," Rose said in her defense. Jackie just shook her head as she took Rose's hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.

"Jackie, I've got more of that chamomile tea you like." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled at him.

"Thank you," Jackie said letting go of Rose's hand and walking over to him and Rose was shocked to her toes when he opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. Mickey had said they bonded over their belief that she was alive, but she had not expected Sherlock to be so, familiar with her. "Didn't I tell you our girl would come back to us?" Jackie asked and he nodded a wide smile on his face.

"How's Pete doing?" Sherlock asked and Rose remembered he'd been in a coma.

"Yeah, Mickey told me he'd been in a coma, is he okay?" Rose asked a bit worried now.

"He's fine," Jackie said a bright smile on her face. "He's already back at work. He's there now trying to figure out how to make you not dead." Jackie said as she and Sherlock sat down. Rose sat down as well and nodded.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Rose asked and Jackie smirked.

"Well, it's going to take some creative thinking to explain how you didn't die in a huge explosion without mentioning the Time Hoppers." Jackie said as Sherlock stood to get the tea kettle when it whistled. "But he's smart, he'll figure something out."

"Well that's good," Rose said nodding her head.

"Sherlock!" Rose looked up as the door flew open. "I just got a call from Mickey and- My God!" John said when he came into the kitchen, followed by Mary, who was holding Rosie and saw Rose sitting at the table. "He was right; oh thank God he was right!" John said and Rose stood and John walked swiftly over to her and hugged her.

"Rose," Mary said with a bright smile and Rosie smiled kicking her feet.

"Oh she's gotten so big," Rose said when John let her go. She walked over and smiled at Rosie. She was about 4 months old now and Rose was sad to see how much she'd changed. "I missed so much," Rose said sadly.

"You're back now," Mary said pulling her into a one armed hug. "That's all that matters."

"Rose!" Rose pulled away and looked at the door as Molly ran into the flat. She ran over to Rose and pulled her into a tight hug. Now, Molly had seemed like she was getting over her dislike of Rose before all this, but she had not expected this kind of welcome from her.

"Hello Molly," Rose said hugging her back.

"Sorry," Molly said pulling back as a blush formed. "John called and told me you really were okay and I was just so happy." She said pushing some loose hair back off her shoulder.

"Looks like this is where the party is," Lestrade said stepping into the flat and Rose chuckled.

"John did you call all of London?" Sherlock asked and John blushed a little and shrugged. Lestrade walked over and clapped Rose on the back.

"Glad to see you're not so dead after all," Lestrade said and Rose laughed nodding her head. "He's not nearly as clever without you." He said nodding at Sherlock and Rose giggled and Sherlock scowled.

It didn't take long for Mickey to show up with Martha, four boxes of pizza and three bottles of Roses favorite wine with them. Mrs. Hudson showed up with a bunch of her little cakes and suddenly they were having an impromptu welcome home party for Rose. Pete showed up a bit later with some paper work for Rose to sign, bringing her back to life and then joined the party. There was music and drinking and much catching up on Rose's part. Sherlock told her about a few of his cases and of course how he solved them. Mary showed Rose how Rosie was beginning to keep some weight on her legs and then Rosie showed her that she was starting to babble a bit. Sherlock got talked into playing a few songs on the violin, all of which were Rose's favorites.

"So, John mentioned you didn't go to my funeral," Rose said to Sherlock when he sat down next to her after playing the third song on his violin. Everyone had been there for more than three hours now and Rose was about ready to call it a night. Sherlock took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"I just couldn't stand there and watch them lower an empty casket into the ground." Sherlock said and Rose took his hand. His voice hadn't wavered in tone of pitch but Rose could hear the pain in his words. "Not when I knew you weren't dead."

"I'm so sorry Sherlock," Rose said she rubbed her thumb up and down his hand. "I meant to go three days forward, but it was so crazy, and I didn't have much time and-

"Rose I'm not mad at you. I'm just so..." He stopped as he realized they had a bit of an audience. Rose watched as Sherlocks' cheeks flamed and she had to hold back a giggle.

"Well I think it's about time we all saw ourselves home," Pete said and Jackie opened her mouth to protest but Pete silenced her with a look and she smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah," John said as he shifted a sleeping Rosie in his arms. "Time we got this little one home to bed." He said and Sherlock sent him a thankful look.

"Rose, you come in day after tomorrow and we'll work on getting you reestablished at work, yeah?" Pete said as he grabbed Jackie's coat.

"Course I will dad," Rose said standing up to hug him.

"I'm glad to have you back babe," Mickey said and she turned to him and hugged him.

"We're all just so happy you're okay," Mary said walking up to Rose to give her a hug. Rose said goodbye to everyone, giving out hugs and promises to catch up soon. After about 15 minutes the flat was empty but for Rose and Sherlock. As the door closed behind John and Mary Rose turned into Sherlock and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Gods Sherlock how did you not go crazy?" Rose mumbled into his chest. His arms around her tightened and he kissed the top of her head.

"I knew you'd be back Rose," he told her honestly. He pulled away with a smile and took her hand. "I have something for you." He said and he pulled her into the kitchen. He reached a drawer and pulled it open and pulled out the long white box with a smile.

"What's this for?" She asked as he handed it to her.

"Well, you're necklace took a bit of a beating in the explosion." He said with a wry grin. Rose hadn't even thought about her necklace, she'd taken it off to put away, which was how she found the bomb. She opened the box and smiled at the beautiful necklace inside. It was the same as the necklace he'd given her at Christmas, only now there were two charms hanging from it. The same miniature magnifying glass with the emerald stone set in the middle and now there was a miniature old fashion clock face hanging next to it.

"I love it," She said as she pulled it out of the box and handed it to him and turned around.

"I wanted something to represent the thing that saved your life," he said as he clasped it behind her neck. "Time was on our side." He said as he leaned down and kissed her neck.

"Thank you," She said as she turned and hugged him. Then her smile fell a bit and she looked worried.

"What?" He asked and she sighed.

"First someone leaked information to Magnussen about me; now someone got in and planted a bomb Sherlock, that shouldn't have even been possible." She said as she bit her bottom lip. "I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better." She said as the worry clouded her eyes.

"Come on now," he said taking her chin in his hand. "You've got the famous Sherlock Holmes on your side, whoever is behind this we'll catch them and we'll deal with them." Rose nodded her head and he reached out and pulled her into a hug again. But Rose felt a chill run down her spine, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be that easy.

~*~M.M~*~

He smirked as he read the article the next morning about the miraculous return of Rose Tyler in the paper. He folded it and put it down in his lap and picked up his tea. Apparently killing Rose Tyler was not going to be as easy as he'd thought it would be. Well, that was fine; he had new plans now, and bigger fish to fry as they said. He looked to his computer as it beeped and a nasty smile spread over his face.

"Finally," he said as he typed into the computer. He pulled up something new up and typed a bit more till he found the video feed he was looking for. Then a 15 second shot filled the screen. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a bit odd. Just a thin jagged crack in the side of a building, but it was glowing an eerie golden yellow and his smile grew.

"That should work," he said as he stood up and got to work on his new plan.

**A/N**\- Hope you guys liked this one! The next story should be out in a few days, maybe a week. I love hearing from the readers, so drop me a line! Reviews feel the soul!


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